Deepika to be questioned today, her manager summoned once again
A day ahead of its much-discussed questioning of actress Deepika Padkone, the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) grilled actress Rakul Preet Singh and Deepika’s manager Karishma Prakash in connection with the Sushant death-related drug case and expanded Bollywood-drug nexus case.
A day after she had sought time to appear before the NCB for questioning, Rakul recorded her statement under the Section 67 in the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act, 1985.
Karishma, whose deposition will have a bearing on the involvement or otherwise of Deepika in matters relating to procurement and usage of drugs, has been summoned once again by the NCB on Saturday for questioning.
“Today Rakul Preet and Karishma joined the investigation. Karishma has been called again tomorrow,” NCB’s Deputy Director (Operations) KPS Malhotra said.
Given that the NCB has already confirmed that she will join the investigations, it is certain Deepika would be questioned by the investigating agency on Saturday.
Over the past couple of days, there has been a considerable build-up in the electronic media for Deepika’s questioning scheduled for Saturday. On her part, the “Padmavat” actress has maintained stoic silence over the intense speculation in the media about her alleged link to the drugs.
However, notwithstanding the eagerness of a section of the electronic media to see them in the dock, it was not clear till the evening as to when two other actresses Sara Ali Khan and Shraddha Kapoor would join the investigations on Saturday.
For, there was no confirmation from the NCB till the evening as to whether the two actresses would also be questioned on Saturday.
The names of Karishma, Rakul, Sara, Deepika and fashion designer Simone Khambata had figured in the NCB’s questioning of actress Rhea Chakraborty and late Sushant’s ex-manager Jaya Saha.
Deepika will be questioned in the context of the information that surfaced during the questioning of actress-accused Rhea Chakraborty, Jaya Saha and her own manager Karishma in the expanded Bollywood-drug nexus case.
Karishma works with Jaya Saha, with whom Rhea Chakraborty had chatted about CBD oil, as a manager in Kwan talent management agency. During the questioning, the NCB had reportedly grilled Jaya if she had any knowledge about Karishma procuring drugs for Deepika Padukone.
The NCB had earlier retrieved Deepika’s WhatsApp chats with Karishma in which the two were seen discussing drugs. Earlier, Jaya’s chats with Rhea Chakraborty about CBD oil were also retrieved by NCB.
The NCB investigations have thrown up a WhatsApp chat of 2017 between D (Deepika Padukone) and K (Karishma). In the chat, Deepika reportedly asks Karishna: “You have Maal?, Karishma responds saying: “Yes, but at home. I am at Bandra. Later Krishma tells Deepika that one Amit is bringing it to a high-end restaurant “koko” at Lower Parel. Deepika seeks to confirm if it is hash not weed.
The NCB has registered two drugs cases in the wake of the investigations launched by the CBI into the death of actor Sushant Singh Rajput in June this year upon the directive issued by the Supreme Court.
Seventeen persons -including Rhea and her brother Showik --- are under arrest in connection with a case registered by the NCB on August 28, two days after it registered a case suo moto. It registered a second case after it told the Mumbai court that it wants to “to uproot the drug citadel in Mumbai especially in Bollywood”.
The Bollywood-drug nexus should be seen in the context of what the NCB had said on September 5, while seeking the remand of Rhea, her brother and late Sushant’s house manager Samuel Miranda.
In a remand application filed before the court on September 5, NCB’s Intelligence officer K Kiran Babu had said: “The NCB is investigating the drug angle in the late Sushant Singh Rajput case and therefore it is highly substantive and needs to be investigated thoroughly so as to uproot the drug citadel in Mumbai especially in Bollywood”.
Meanwhile, yesteryear’s actress Raveena Tandon charged that the celebrities have become ‘soft targets’ and no drug supply could happen ‘without the ashirwad of local authorities’.
Taking to twitter, Raveena alluded to one of her earlier tweets in which she had welcomed the probe and wrote. “The ‘Big Guys’ in my tweet. No drug supplying can happen without the ashirwad of local authorities. Those are the Big fish that swim away unquestioned. If a Journo can reach the suppliers on stings. Can’t the authorities sniff them out? Celebrities are soft targets (sic),” Raveena wrote.
In another tweet, Raveena alleged that ‘powerful authoritative entities’ were turning a blind eye and let young lives get ruined due to drug abuse and called for a ‘full war against drugs’ across the country.
“Suppliers hang outside colleges/schools, pubs, restaurants, a drug syndicate, involving powerful authoritative entities (big guys on the take) (as in Bribes) who turn blind eye, let young lives get ruined. Uproot it from THIS core. Dont stop here, declare a full war against drugs Countrywide (sic), Raveena tweeted.